0910AW 同主题写作第七期 ARGUMENT167 by 尾羽

尾羽UID: 2482591

167.A folk remedy* for insomnia, the scent in lavender flowers, has now been proved effective. In a recent study, 30 volunteers with chronic insomnia slept each night for three weeks on lavender-scented pillows in a controlled room where their sleep was monitored. During the first week, volunteers continued to take their usual sleeping medication. They slept soundly but wakened feeling tired. During the second week, the volunteers discontinued their medication. As a result, they slept less soundly than the previous week and felt even more tired. During the third week, the volunteers slept longer and more soundly than in the previous two weeks. This shows that over a short period of time lavender cures insomnia.

*A folk remedy is usually a plant-based form of treatment common to traditional forms of medicine, ones that developed before the advent of modern medical services and technology

主张：薰衣草花香作为一种治疗失眠的土方是有效的。
结论：在短时间内薰衣草可以治疗失眠症。
Support:一个试验调查，让长期失眠的30人在每晚睡觉时用薰衣草花香的枕头，并对睡眠情况监控，为期3周。
1st week,仍然使用药物，睡得沉但醒来很累
2nd week,不使用药物，没有前一周睡的沉，并且感觉更累
3rd week,（药物使用未知、否累未知），比前两周睡的又好又长，

提纲：
1.        对受调查样本的抗药物性、整体健康和睡眠条件状况没有给出任何信息。
2.30人的状况不能代表所有患者，3周对于慢性病的观察来说时间太短。
3.第一周，同时使用药物和枕头，无法区分受调查者睡得好究竟是因为药物还是枕头;第二周，未使用药物，睡的不好而且感觉更累，这是否说明枕头没作用？
第三周，未给出服药和醒后是否感觉累，也无法说明睡的又好又长是薰衣草的治疗效果。

写完了我才觉得。。。提纲里的第三点是不是有悖于“君子之辩”倡导的理念了。。。

尾羽UID: 2482591

In this argument, the author claims that the scent in lavender flowers has been proved effective and can cures insomnia over a short period of time. To substantiate the conclusion, the author provides a study based on the observation that 30 volunteers with chronic slept on lavender-scented pillows for three weeks insomnia in a controlled room where was supervised. It sounds reasonable at first thought, however, a careful examination of this argument would reveal how groundless the conclusion is.

First of all, the author fails to present any information concerning all details may affect a correct conclusion made from the study. For instance, what is the situation about health and drug resistance of the investigated volunteers? It might be hard to fall asleep soundly if someone suffers illness. And, if many volunteers are resistant to medicine because of the long-term treatment, the conclusion drawn by the author is worth considering. Similarly, how about the volunteers’ specific sleeping condition while the author only mentioned “a controlled room” without any detail? It is known in common sense that a peaceful condition is good for sleep and we usually cannot fall asleep in chaos. Thus, to improve the efficiency, the author must offer all kinds of details like something above, or it may cause a suspicion to the study.

Moreover, the reaction of thirty volunteers to the scent in lavender flowers may not be representatives in all patients. And to the chronic illness symptom, the observation for three weeks perhaps is too short period of time to determine the impact on insomnia. So, more evidence should be furnished to strengthen the conclusion.

What further weaken the argument is the process set in the study that it is not persuasive enough to confirm the conclusion made by the author. Firstly, the fact that the volunteers take their usual medicine and use the lavender-scented pillows when they sleep during the first week, is confused me to get the bottom of that whether sleeping medicine or special pillow lead to a good sleep. Even maybe they made it together. Additionally, in the second week, volunteers without medicine sleep on the pillows only, but their sleep and waken feeling was worse than the last week. Shall I assert that the scent in lavender flower is useless to insomnia over a week? It is also a short period of time. Last but not least, the author ignores two relevant factors that whether volunteers took medicine and how about the feeling when they wake up in the third week. These are essential points to support the conclusion that must be showed in the argument. Because it is entirely possible that a new sleeping medicine the volunteers took in the third week lends a result better than in the previous weeks.

As it stands, the argument is not well reasoned. To make it logically acceptable, the author would have to demonstrate a sufficient study with solid fact and appropriate deduction. Such as, a study with a matched group that volunteers sleep on lavender-scented pillows without medicine in all three weeks. Furthermore, the author must provide evidence to rule out all the above-mentioned possibilities that might weaken the argument.

yangguang_86UID: 2414818

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